I. Field of the Invention
The current invention relates to communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, an apparatus, and an article of manufacture for granting a terminal, which is establishing a communication with a network access server via a non-trusted access network, use of a previously established session of a packet data transmission standard.
II. Description of the Related Art
With an increasing popularity of both wireless communications and network—especially Internet—applications, various methods and systems are under development to allow a user of a wireless device to access email, web pages, and other network resources. Because information on the Internet is organized into discrete “packets” of data, these services are often referred to as “packet data services.”
Several multiple-access communication system techniques are considered to provide wireless packet data services. Among the different types of wireless communication systems are time division multiple access (TDMA), frequency division multiple access (FDMA), AM modulation schemes such as amplitude companded single sideband (ACSSB) modulation, and code division multiple access (CDMA). These communication systems have been standardized to facilitate interoperation between equipment manufactured by different companies. In particular, CDMA communications systems have been standardized in the United States in Telecommunications Industry Association TIA/EIA/IS-95-B, entitled “MOBILE STATION-BASE STATION COMPATIBILITY STANDARD FOR DUAL-MODE WIDEBAND SPREAD SPECTRUM CELLULAR SYSTEM,” hereinafter referred to as IS-95.
The International Telecommunications Union recently requested a submission of proposed methods for providing high-rate data and high-quality speech services over wireless communication channels. A first proposal was issued by the Telecommunications Industry Association, entitled “The cdma2000 ITU-R RTT Candidate Submission.” The proposal issued as an Industry Standard 2000 (IS-2000). A second proposal was issued by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI), entitled “The ETSI UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) ITU-R RTT Candidate Submission,” also known as “wideband CDMA,” and hereinafter referred to as W-CDMA. A third proposal was submitted by U.S. task group (TG) 8/1, entitled “The UWC-136 Candidate Submission,” hereinafter referred to as EDGE. The contents of these submissions are of public record and are well known in the art.
In wireless communication systems, there are significant differences between the requirements for providing voice and data services. Such differences, well known in the art, result in compromises in design of hybrid high-rate data and high-quality speech wireless communication systems. Consequently, where only data services are required, (e.g., Internet or fax transmissions) a wireless communication system optimized for transmission of high data rates (HDR) may be used. An exemplary HDR system defines a set of data rates at which data are transmitted and received by a wireless station, ranging from 38.4 kbps to 2.4 Mbps. Such a system is disclosed in a co-pending application Ser. No. 08/963,386, entitled “METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR HIGH RATE PACKET DATA TRANSMISSION,” filed Nov. 3, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,574,211, issued Jun. 3, 2003, assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated by reference herein.
Several Internet Protocol (IP) standards have been developed by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) to facilitate mobile packet data services for Internet. Mobile IP is one such standard, and was designed to allow a device having an IP address to exchange data with the Internet while physically traveling throughout a network (or networks). Mobile IP is described in detail in IETF request for comments (RFC), entitled “IP Mobility Support,” and incorporated herein by reference.
The framing and transmission of IP data through a CDMA wireless network is well known in the art and has been described in TIA/EIA/IS-707-A standard, entitled “DATA SERVICE OPTIONS FOR SPREAD SPECTRUM SYSTEM,” hereinafter referred to as IS-707.
Several other IETF standards set forth techniques referred to in the above-named references. Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is well known in the art and is described in IETF RFC 1661, entitled “The Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP)” and published in July 1994, hereinafter referred to as PPP. PPP includes a Link Control Protocol (LCP) and several Network Control Protocols (NCP) used for establishing and configuring different network-layer protocols over a PPP link.
One such NCP is the Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP), well known in the art and described in IETF RFC 1332, entitled “The PPP Internet Protocol Control Protocol (IPCP),” published in May of 1992, and hereinafter referred to as IPCP. Extensions to the LCP are well known in the art and described in IETF RFC 1570, entitled “PPP LCP Extensions,” published in January 1994, and hereinafter referred to as LCP.
Access terminals, e.g., cellular or personal communication systems (PCS) telephones with Internet connections, typically transmit packet data over a network by establishing a session of a packet data transmission standard with a packet network access server (NAS), e.g., a packet data service node (PDSN). The session of a packet data transmission standard is usually a PPP connection (or PPP instance, or PPP session). The access terminal (T) sends packets across an RF (radio frequency) interface, e.g., a CDMA interface, to a radio access network (RAN). The RAN establishes the PPP instance with the PDSN. More than one such PPP instance may be established contemporaneously (e.g., if a telephone and a laptop each require a connection). IP data packets are routed between the PDSN and the Internet.
When an access terminal changes from one RAN (e.g., an HDR system) to another RAN (e.g., an IS-2000 system) connected to the same NAS, the new RAN establishes a new session of a packet data transmission standard. This action is time consuming because the T must go through the session initiation, and non-transparent to the T because the T must obtain a new IP address.
A method, an apparatus, and an article of manufacture are disclosed to grant a terminal, which is establishing a communication with a network access server via a non-trusted access network, use of a session of a packet data transmission standard designated by an identifier, when a previously established security association between the terminal and the access network can be verified.